Wells Fargo 2013 Annual Report Download - page 9

Eachweek, we provide on average about $360million
in new credit to small businesses so they can grow.
Andeach day, we make it possible for people to pay bills,
deposit checks, and get the cash they need. Ingetting
the essentials right, we earn more opportunities to
serveourcustomers.
We strive to deliver a consistent, value-added
experience every time a customer interacts withus—
inperson, over the phone, at one of our more than
12,000ATMs, online, or through a mobile device.
Increasingly, customers rely on these interconnected
channels and expect to conduct business with us in
multiple ways. Forexample, while mobile is our fastest-
growing channel with more than 12million users, many
ofthese same customers also want the option of visiting
aretail bank store to open accounts, transact business,
ordiscuss financial matters.
We will continue to invest in each of our channels
to provide the most value to our customers. In2013,
weadded a text receipt option at our ATMs, becoming
the first bank to oer customers ATM receipts by text
and email, which is great for the environment. Our online
banking presence also improved with a new tablet-
friendly home page. And innovative tools in our stores
help bankers better serve the needs of our customers.
Wealso continue to expand our presence onsocial media
channels— Facebook, YouTube, Google+, LinkedIn,
and Twitter— toconnect and communicate with
keystakeholders.
Regardless of the channel that a customer chooses,
our focus is on providing exceptional service every
time. We know excellent customer experiences lead to
more opportunities to increase customer loyalty and
growreferrals.
Growing revenue
Revenue is a key measure of how well we are serving
existing customers and gaining new ones. When we
serve customers well, the money we earn is the result.
Wenever put the stagecoach ahead of the horses. Weview
ourselves as a growth company and generate revenue
across a diverse set of businesses— from traditional
banking to brokerage to capital markets— incontrolled
and sustainable ways that reflect our risk tolerance.
We clearly benefited from our diversified business
model in2013. While rising long-term interest rates
slowed refinance volume and impacted our mortgage
revenue, we experienced growth in other businesses
such as asset-backed finance, asset management, capital
markets, commercial real estate, corporate banking,
credit cards, retail brokerage, small business lending,
andtreasury management.
Another key gauge of how we are satisfying the needs
of our customers is how many products they have with us.
Infourth quarter 2013, the average Retail Bank household
had 6.16 WellsFargo products, up from 6.05 in fourth
quarter 2012, while our average Wholesale Banking
household had 7.1products, and our average Wealth,
Brokerage and Retirement household had 10.42products.
In2014, we will continue to look for opportunities
to deepen relationships with customers and grow
revenue. Two areas of particular focus include earning
more business from our auent customers (those with
$100,000 or more in deposits and/or investable assets)
and growing our credit card portfolio.
•  About 6million of our Retail Bank households
hold significant investments or deposits at other
companies. We are starting to serve more of these
customers’ financial needs through the Community
Bank and our brokerage business, WellsFargo
Advisors, as we work together to expand auent
customerrelationships.
•  We also continue to increase the portion of retail
households with a WellsFargo credit card, which
was 37percent at the end of 2013, up from 33percent
in2012. We have a number of credit card strategies
in place, including expanded rewards and innovative
partnerships with Visa and American Express.
Managing expenses
Managing expenses means that every dollar we spend is
aligned with our vision and priorities. This ensures we
are spending money on the right things, investing in the
right technologies and products, and focusing on our
customers. Managing expenses well allows us to realize
the full benefits of our size and scale without diminishing
customer experiences or increasing operational risk.
One measure we track closely is our eciency ratio
(how much expense we incur for every dollar of revenue
we earn). In2013, our eciency ratio was 58.3percent,
animprovement of 20 basis points from 2012 and within
our target range of 55 to 59percent.
Some of the ways we managed expenses in2013
included aligning personnel costs with demand in rate-
sensitive businesses like mortgage and making more
ecient use of our real estate. Since 2009, we have
reduced our total real estate space by 15percent— from
112million square feet to about 95million squarefeet.
One example is in Chicago, where last year we
consolidated about 40 WellsFargo businesses and 700
team members across several downtown buildings into
a new, state-of-the-art regional headquarters at the
ChicagoMercantile Center.
Wealso continue to make ecient use of our retail
bank store space without sacrificing personal service.
We love our network of approximately 6,200 retail bank
stores and the convenience and individual attention
they provide our customers. In2013, we began to grow
the number of bank stores in supermarkets in the East,
joining about 460 such stores in our Western markets.
